


A Change of Perspective

by Greengargouille



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9292916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greengargouille/pseuds/Greengargouille
Summary: A small change at the start can lead to a very different story.





	1. A Change of Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there !! 
> 
> Some days ago, a question came to me. How did Korosensei even knew about some of his abilities ? And somehow, pondering about it, this story was born. I hope you will be able to enjoy it.

When the God of Death fled away for the first time, everything felt new. Memories of the outside world before his confinement in the lab were distant in his mind, buried under white light and smooth textures and sanitised scents.

Sharp wind was putting pressure against his new skin as he moved at 20 times the speed of sound into a dark new world. So different. His eyes and nostrils, far removed from humanity limitations, picked such rich odours, such small moves -everything was so little and so slow, so peaceful in this night, barely lightened by a moon crescent...

That’s right, the Moon. It exploded. He wondered how much it would impact Earth. Some meteorites crashed on the celestial body rather than the planet, but those would probably a minor inconvenience. More importantly, the sea would probably radically change.

He didn’t particularly care. Barely an hour ago, he came to a realisation : his abilities could be used to help people. But, a part of him still had no interest in that. The world never cared about him, and he never cared at the world before. He wanted to change that, wanted to become someone who could fully see the ones under his eyes ; that’s why, when the tentacles asked him, he wished for weakness. For becoming one who could nurture children into adults and not tools.

He made a promise, after all. And Aguri’s blood was still on his tentacles.

The God of Death didn’t know much of her new students, and would have likely not cared either before. But they were her legacy, and so he would protect them all till the end. As a promise. As an apology.

 _“Just like you, they are lost in the dark.”_ How naive. He had barely anything in common with those children. For as long as he remembered, he was an human-shaped shell, seeking only catharsis in destruction. But he was used to those comparisons with her beloved students or her little sister. _“You think I should be more assertive ? That’s what Akari told me, too, but...”_

Maybe in another life he could have been like them. He could have been born her little brother, and this bond they shared wouldn’t be friendship but family. She could have scolded her like she did, without really meaning it, and he would have insulted her shirts each morning along with that Akari he only knew by word, and he would have flirted with Yanagisawa just to see his brother-in-law’s face break from his usual smug smile. 

In another life, the same blood as Aguri could have run through his veins. In this one, this blood ran on his tentacles.

Once sheltered in a newly made cave, deep down in the mountains, he tried to remove it. Make the mucus flow through the hollow parts of his tentacles and away from his body, taking away the dirt and building dust and hemoglobin. How strange. It wasn’t like when he was an human. He wondered if he could accumulate ink to project through them, like a squid. He should try one day. This body... This body was so different. It made him feel the world that much more intensely than the precedent, that much closer to him, as if he was now a part of it and not a piece removed from humanity and life as a whole.

* * *

Bored. He was so bored.  


When he first tried to crystallize his body, he felt slightly worried by his new form. He couldn’t move, couldn’t smell anything either, and sounds felt distant. If someone came to inspect what was the source of the precedent flash of light, he would only be able to watch them approach as they wished, and even that could be compromised given he wasn’t able to turn around.

But, hours passed, and nothing happened. Boring.

It’s not like he had so much free time, either. He needed to go see his future classroom and familiarize himself with the program for junior high and the commonly used school books. That would take at least three days. 

Instead of what he watched birds and insects. Surely he could learn something from that, but with his new capacities, everything was just so slow.

It bored him.

How much time would he stay trapped in his form, anyways. Gosh, thankfully he was too good to be assassinated easily, he would hate to be trapped like that regularly. Even his guinea pig cage was better than this.

Bored. He was so bored.

* * *

When he felt his skin ceased to be thicker, ready to be removed by one tough pull, the former God of Death waited multiple days before trying. If he learned anything from his Ultimate Defense Form, it was that he could never be too cautious before trying new capacities.  


* * *

When Nagisa’s arms wrapped around his neck, the teacher was glad of how fast he could think.

A BB pellet grenade. If he received the impact this close, then even without touching his heart, he would surely die. No, maybe he had a slim chance of surviving ; his head could take much more damage than an human and still restore itself. It would affect his speed and cognitive capacities a lot, though. 

And then there was Nagisa. He would be pretty hurt by that, too. Did he not understand that ? Why was he so ready to throw his life away ?

 _“Just like you, they are lost in the dark.”_ How naive. The answer have been there all along. Even though he had wanted to learn how to see those children better...

He felt so angry, through. Even if they came from such a peaceful and rich country, the world did not care more for those students than it did for him. And instead of not caring for the world, they instead did not care for themselves.

He was the only one left to protect them.

He would not let Nagisa get hurt.

...His skin. If he could shred his skin, then Nagisa’s grip would slip away and he could cover him with it. But, there was only one problem.

It wasn’t thick enough.

From what he remembered of the sensation, it would have been perfect two or three days later. If he hadn’t been so cautious in trying that ability, if he had not waited, then everything would have gone well.

He used all the tentacles he could as a shield around the grenade. It would not suffice, but at least it would be a slight protection.

* * *

_“What... Lovely tentacles... With these hands... I know you’ll be... a splendid... teacher...”_

* * *

_It hurts. Everything hurts_. Nagisa was barely able to think under the sharp spikes of pain invading his mind. 

_It hurts._ Part of his skin was covered in sticky stuff. _It hurts._ He felt like some got into his hair, too. _It hurts._

He opened his eyes ; he had closed them by reflex from the strong flash of the grenade. _It hurts_. What he saw made him thought he would have preferred for them to stay closed. 

The yellow slimy mass pouring from the giant clothes didn’t felt shaped like a sphere. Or anything, really. It reminded him of a scoop of ice cream that felt on the floor and was left to melt, only the ice cream was bubbling under the pellets stuck on it and had a smell of burnt plastic overpowering his nose.

_Somebody help, please, it hurts._

There were bits here and there of what must have been once tentacles. He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t concentrate. _It hurts._ He could feel vibrations of bodies walking through the wooden floor, but his ears were still ringing from the noise of the explosion. _It hurts._ He felt so disoriented, among the distant voices of panic and celebration. Someone... Terasaka ? Stabbed the remaining mass of yellow mud.

_It hurts so much._

The homeroom teacher of Kunugigaoka Junior High’s 3-E died before he was even given a name.


	2. Tearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone !! Guess who's back with a good dose of "everyone feels miserable" ?

Kayano didn’t come in class the next day.

She didn’t answer the text her newly made friends left her. Not when Kurahashi asked her if she was okay, not when Hara asked her if she wanted her to come to her house, not when Kataoka informed her they would all be in self study for an indefinite time till a new teacher was appointed.

As far as Akari was concerned, Kayano already died. She had ditched the hair dye bottle and put the grey uniform far, far away in her closet. Kaede was only a fake identity to approach this monster ; with him dead, she had no more utility for such a name.

It took her hours for the new to truly impact her. Even if she assisted to how the octopus was reduced to a slimy mess, she had needed time to accept it. Dead. Killed by the one she wanted to use as her cover and a few idiots that she thought were barely worth her interest.

She had wished for the satisfaction of seeing that smiley face when she would have told him who she truly was.  
She had wished for the joy of his fear, when he understood the consequence of killing her big sis, the best sister in the whole world.  
She had wished for something to take on her anger, something to tear apart and endure the pain she shouldn’t have to suffer. 

Instead she was left with only her bitterness, frustration and a pair of useless tentacles.

It hurt. Even after the retribution this murderer deserved, Aguri’s death still hurt. Even after her goal was achieved, the living weapons stuck to her neck still hurt.

The bloodlust of the tentacles was sucked out as soon as that monster died, and so their cry for vengeance had extinguished, leaving only their need for energy. The spikes of pain drilling into her brain were coming at longer intervals now. They felt less sharp, too. Without an iron resolution to keep steady, they felt like torture.

She didn’t need them anymore, but Akari didn’t know how to remove those tentacles, nor did she knew anyone who would.

...Maybe Yanagisawa. He was the head scientist of that project on which Aguri helped. If anyone had a clue, it was him. 

She hated him, though. He took her sister away from her, and her father only cried from happiness, as if it wasn’t _wrong_ for Aguri not to be with them and that they should all go live their own separate life. She also hated how his smug, confident face reminded her so much of older colleagues in her acting job, kind to her but full of contempt in her back. And then he always treated her as a child, as if with fourteen years of existence, a solid career and having to deal with her mother’s death at an early age didn’t made her mature enough as far as he was concerned.

She also hated how she felt he would see that hate as validation of her childishness.

Akari could - she would hold on without his or anyone’s help. She won’t let that kill her. It would be infantile to let herself die just not to see her... brother-in-law. So she absolutely couldn’t let those tentacles win.

She didn’t know how to contact Yanagisawa, anyways. She had removed his phone number and mail adress from her phone soon after her sister added them, and did not know where he might live. The last time she have seem him those last months were during Aguri’s funeral. Her sister didn’t have many friends ; her social life fell so low after she had to work through two jobs at the same time. It was easy, in this half-empty room, to see the man come mid-ceremony, his face ill and his left eye all patched up, and see him go before the end. 

-He should have been in the front, seated next to her and her father, offering incense to Aguri’s memories, he was _her fiance_ , didn’t he _care_ about her-

Akari felt some relief that the decision of not meeting him was already taken for her, in a way. She wouldn’t have to constantly justify it to herself til her motivation grew thin.

...She still wondered where he could be, though.

* * *

Itona never have seen Shiro be in such an horrible mood. The white clothed man left such a solid impression of calmness that it was difficult to see him in that impostor-like figure, broking things and screaming in anger.

“He can’t have died - he was _mine_ to kill !! He was _mine_ !”

His underlings didn’t seems too fazed by this attitude, though, showing an air of resignation as if it was to be expected. They didn’t even seem that concerned about it either, the thrill of another new shadowing the worry.

“Did you hear ? That monster -  
-I can’t believe it ! And to think he killed so many-  
-You think he went mad from the outside world ?  
-Possible, he was confined during so much time after all-  
-Wait, so it was some kind of suicide ?  
-No no, it’s the children, they killed him-”

So much chatter. It hurts Itona’s head. He disliked how he was left in a corner without explanations. Today was supposed to be his day. He was supposed to get tentacles. It’s been days he’ve been trained for it, his body modified to handle the shock. Instead of what he’ve been thrown on the side, the attention of the whole team centered on that event.

He have been trying to understand what everyone was talking about. What was that monster ? It couldn’t be the creature he was supposed to kill. It was stronger than any human or weapon ; it couldn’t have died. The one they talked about must have been very weak. Why were they still going on that instead of prioritizing the strong ?

That must be because Itona was weak. Even if his body could now easily crush the students that have bullied him, he was so weak compared to what he could be.

He felt the bitter taste of the time his father’s factory went bankrupt. Everyone going left and right and speaking over each other of things he couldn’t grasp, not paying any attention to the child seeking something to hold on to on those stressful times. 

During those times he regretted not going into his father’s office to support him when he needed it. Itona should have shown him stability ; maybe he wouldn’t have left then.

The boy slowly made his way to the room everyone seemed to distance themselves from. _“It’s best to leave him alone in those cases”_. Screw it. What did they understood ? They were weak. That’s why they weren’t the head of the project.

Itona didn’t dislike Shiro. He didn’t have strong feelings of attachment to him, but he met him when he needed someone to look over him and be concerned about his situation. 

That day that happened after weeks of his uncle travelling across the country for work. _“I’m young and single, it’s normal they give me those missions, if they knew I had to take care of a child it would bring me lot of trouble, you know ? Will you be strong enough to stay alone for a few days more ?”_ Itona wasn’t strong then, but he hadn’t been able to say it. Even if he couldn’t go to school because the other students were starting to be painful. Even if he felt nauseous from only eating convenience-store food. Even if he was scared because the moon had exploded two weeks ago and he didn’t understand how it was possible and what might happen then. 

That day when he avoided coming back to an empty, messy house, by dragging himself in the streets way after night. It was when he was picked up by that man, that saw him and promised a strength he pretended to have and needed so much.

That rainy day by the end of March. His 14th birthday.

That’s why, even if they weren’t close, Itona wanted to see if he could help Shiro. He would ask him for his tentacles and become the strongest person on Earth, and then he would be able to destroy any obstacle standing their way, and maybe his father would hear about it and he would come back, too.

The door of the office made an awful noise as it pushed through bit of glass and pile of papers.

The faint noise Itona heard before Shiro suppressed it almost sounded like a sob. The man was sitting at his desk, slouched in his chair instead of his usual upright position, his mask still on his face. Of course. Itona likely wouldn’t want to show his expression either if he had cried, whether from sadness or anger. That was weakness. That’s why he tried so hard to keep an inexpressive face.

“Itona.” A voice devoid of choke. Yet, there was a certain heaviness to it.  
“I was supposed to obtain my tentacles today.  
-...That was the original plan, yes. But there’s no need anymore.  
-...Why ?  
-My... The creature is dead.” Shiro paused an instant, as if admitting this took him a considerable effort. “Everything is useless now. You’re no longer needed.”

Itona took that last sentence as a punch to the guts. He however did his best so it didn’t show how it affected him.

“You promised me I would get tentacles.  
-Wrong. I promised to make you _strong_. We have hardly finished the modifications on your body, but as far as normal humans are concerned, your physical abilities are way better than average.  
-I still want the tentacles.  
-No you don’t.” The answer was unexpectedly sharp and fast. “You won’t be able to sustain them. The only reason the project was viable was because we had the means to produce large quantities of energy in a short time, regularly, and there’s no reason for us to do that now that we don’t need such an unstable weapon. What you’re asking for is merely a long and painful death.  
-But...” Without tentacles, Itona wouldn’t stay strong very long. His body would soon return to that of a small fourteen years old boy. Useless.  
“Ask someone to drive you back at your home. We will send someone later to give some false explanation to your uncle. Ah, and when you leave, close the door and tell everyone to let me alone, I... need some time to think by myself.”

 _Your home._ Was there even such a thing anymore ? His father, that was his home. It disappeared soon after him, the house taken and sold. 

“ _Goodbye_ , Itona.”

Shiro insisted as he saw that the boy didn’t move.

This place felt suddenly suffocating. Too big. Too heavy. _No longer needed.  
You’re a loser who ain’t got nothing._ Why did he thought that would change ?! From the start, he always... he always needed someone to be strong !

He wanted to protest and scream, he wanted to destroy everything. But there was nothing left that wasn’t already broken.

He didn’t close the door when he left.

Itona hoped nobody noticed how he was close to tears.


End file.
